Grindeldore Drabbles and Ficlets
by LynstHolin
Summary: Short Dumbledore/Grindelwald fics go here.
1. Chapter 1

It was a long drop, from where he stood. Gellert was treading water twenty feet below Al, taunting him. "Jump, you fool!"

Al couldn't help feeling modest. He had never been fully nude in the outdoors before. He put his hands in front of his privates, completely unaware that he was beautiful. Gellert grinned up at him, alternately taunting and cajoling. "It's too far down!" Al shouted down to Gellert.

"If you jump, I'll kiss you!"

_Merlin_. Al had to think about that for a minute or two.

"Get down here, Al!"

Al took a deep breath and shook his auburn waves. He knew that being exposed to the sun like this, his fair skin was probably getting new freckles every second. What had he got himself mixed up in?

"It is now or never, Al," Gellert shouted. "Join me now, or I'll have to find someone else!"

Al put him arms out in front of him, pointed gracefully, and rolled off the lip of the quarry.

...

"For the greater good," Gellert said, pushing Al's hair away from his face.

"For the greater good," Al echoed, looking up at his lover. They lived in such a small town, a place that ran on gossip. Still, they found ways to be together. Today, they were in some Muggle's barn, lounging on a pile of loose hay. Al smiled up at Gellert. "And my sister will be able to live... unhidden."

"Of course," Gellert said. He brushed his lips softly against Al's. "We will _all_ be able to live unhidden. We wizards will take the position we were meant to have- we will be at the helm of society, steering it in the proper direction. There was a Muggle who wrote a book about the survival of the fittest. _We _are the fittest."

"What if... what if the Muggles don't want to accept us as their rulers?" Al couldn't help asking.

"Once they see what we're capable of, they will have to accept us as their superiors. If we have to use our powers to frighten them a little, then, so be it. We make a few examples, and the rest of them will fall in line." Gellert stroked a thumb down Al's face and circled around his lips.

"Make an example... how?" Al was nearly hypnotized by Gellert, by the warmth of him, the wild scent of him, the mere _existence_ of him. He'd had no idea that love was so intoxicating. He questioned Gellert, but, when it came right down to it, Al would follow his lover anywhere.

"Oh, a little hex, maybe. Turn Parliament into a herd of swine, perhaps. It would be fitting, don't you think?" Gellert nipped at Al's throat, and ran a hand down his stomach.

"That would be fine," Al sighed, but he would have agreed to absolutely anything at that point.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, you don't have to do this every Saturday," Al said to Bathilda Bagshot.

"Of course I do. You two boys can barely fry up mush for yourselves." Bathilda came in, cradling her waffle iron. "How is Ariana today? Do you think she's up to meeting my great-nephew?"

"She's as fine as she could be. She took a bath all by herself, and most of the water actually stayed in the tub. Listen, she's singing."

Ariana's voice filtered down from the second floor, warbling 'In the Gloaming.' "Oh, lovely," Bathilda said.

"Aunt Hilda, where do I put this?" The most beautiful boy Al had ever seen came through the kitchen door, carrying a large, covered bowl. His brilliantly blue eyes met Al's.

Years later, Al was sure that he had known at that very moment that his life would never be the same

...

Albus Dumbledore walked down a crooked, cobbled street. It reminded him a bit of Diagon Alley, but the mood was a bit more subdued and grim. The witches and wizards of Berlin were debating the war that the Muggle ruler of their country had started. Some worried about the persecution of Jews and Gypsies and other 'undesirables', wondering if it could spill over onto the wizarding community. There were those who plotted ways to take advantage of the chaos of war-time, while others insisted that what went on in the Muggle world was of no interest to them. Oh, how easily they forgot the lessons of 'The War to End All Wars,' when so many wizards and witches were killed, or horrifically injured. And this time around, the Muggles had ever more fearsome weapons.

"Turn around, Al."

The voice paralyzed him. It was deeper, a bit rougher, but Albus knew immediately who it was. "It's been years since anyone has called me Al," he managed to say. He felt like the world was speeding up around him. Turning around to face the person that had spoke to him was like wading through treacle. It seemed to take forever.

Middle age had been very good to Gellert. His features were sharper, his jaw-line flattered by his neatly-trimmed beard. His eyes were just as blue as ever, made even more vivid by the color of his robes; back when he was young and madly in love, Albus had spent hours trying to decide which was the best word to describe their precise hue. Gellert had grown his hair out long, and it was as thick and golden as ever. "You've started to go silver. It suits you, Al." Gellert reached out and took a strand of Albus' hair.

It was such a powerfully intimate gesture. Albus stopped breathing for a moment as a wave of longing rolled through him.

"Are you with someone?" The lines at the corners of Gellert's eyes crinkled attractively as he smiled.

"No. There's no one," Albus replied. There had been no one. There would be no one.

Gellert wound the tress of hair around his finger. "I'm so sorry I left so suddenly. I should have at least said goodbye."

It was the wrong thing to say. Albus had one of _those_ moments, when everything around him disappeared, and all he could see was Ariana laying on the floor like an abandoned doll. He barely noticed the pain when he wrenched away from Gellert, leaving his hair behind.

"What is wrong with you?" Hands gripped Albus' upper arms and shook him.

Panting, Albus opened his eyes, not knowing when he had shut them. "Go away."

"Do you need a drink? I know where they serve the best mead." Gellert attempted to slide an arm around Albus' waist.

"Leave me alone." Albus had recovered himself enough to speak loudly and clearly- and to draw his wand.

Holding his hands up, Gellert backed away. "Sorry. You just looked... wobbly." His gaze turned cold. "I know why you're here. You're spying for the Ministry."

"It's not spying if I'm doing it in the open, Grindelwald." Albus turned and started walking away.

"This Hitler, his ideas are very similar to mine," Gellert called after Albus. "One wonders what a wizard could accomplish, if he allied himself with that man."

A chill ran down Albus' spine at those words. He had a sick feeling that this would not be his last encounter with his ex-lover. He headed for the biergarten, desperately craving the numbing effects of alcohol.

The stories told about love were of how it made people better, ennobled them, lifted them up. Albus supposed it was true for some. When Albus had fallen in love, he would have happily watched the world burn, if it was what his beloved had wanted.

The story wasn't over yet. The world could still burn.


End file.
